Northallerton to get £20m specialist school for children with additional needs in North Yorkshire

A specialist school for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is to be created in North Yorkshire.

It is part of the council's £20 million plans to invest in the development of additional educational services for young people in the county.

It will see new places in schools and early years settings, plus a new school designed around the needs of children with autism.

The development of a new secondary school in Northallerton will be set to accommodate 80 young people with autism in Northallerton.

Councillor Annabel Wilkinson from North Yorkshire County Council said: "I am delighted that despite the significant resource constraints applying to investing in special schools, we have been able to pull together a programme to address the most urgent challenges in terms of school capacity.

Ms Wilkinson added that by delivering an additional 300 places over the next few years, it will "support more young people to access highly appropriate placements in their local communities."

The funding by the council also looks at developing the capacity in existing special schools, like the expansion of Springwater Special School in Harrogate.

It is estimated that an additional capacity of 350 SEND school places will be required to be developed over the next three to five years.

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